Medical cart system

ABSTRACT

A medical cart includes an interface assembly including a display, a speaker, a camera and a microphone. The interface assembly is operatively connected to an enclosure at a connecting portion that is operable to reposition the interface assembly from a transporting configuration in which the interface assembly is disposed inside the enclosure to a deployed configuration in which the interface assembly is disposed outside of the enclosure. The medical cart also includes a set of wheels operably connected to at least one of the enclosure or a pivoting assembly operable to pivot from the transporting configuration in which only the set of wheels makes contact with a transporting surface to the deployed configuration in which a portion of the cart in addition to the set of wheels makes contact with the transporting surface for stabilizing the cart in the deployed configuration.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to remote medical care andparticularly to a medical cart system.

BACKGROUND

In some cases, access to medical care for certain specialties such as,for example, psychological care may not be widely available particularlyin rural areas or even urban areas that are significantly spread out. Inother cases, care may be available, but the cost of providingindividualized care may be prohibitive to patients and/or insuranceprograms.

Remote care systems have been proposed in which a doctor or othermedical practitioner may provide some level of care from a locationremote to the patient. In prior art systems, however, the doctor/patientinteraction facilitated by the systems may be less than optimal. Remotecare systems should allow the patient to experience interaction with thedoctor that is as similar as possible to the interaction that thepatient would have experienced if the patient and the doctor were in thesame room. Conventional remote care systems do not provide that.

Moreover, because of their construction, weight, power structure, etc.,prior art remote care systems were effectively bound to a single medicalfacility and were not effectively and easily transported from onefacility to another facility. The cost of remote care systems that areeffectively bound to a single medical facility may be prohibitivebecause multiple systems would be needed to service multiple facilities,which increases costs and reduces availability of care.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure provides a medical cart that provides for doctor/patientinteraction that is similar to the interaction that the patient wouldhave experienced if the patient and the doctor were in the samelocation. Moreover, the medical cart of the present disclosure providesfor doctor/patient interaction that is facilitated by a third person, afacilitator, who may monitor various aspects of the communicationbetween doctor and patient to ensure a satisfactory experience for thepatient. The medical cart of the present disclosure also gives thepatient the opportunity to experience interaction with the doctorwithout the facilitator becoming a distraction.

The medical cart of the present disclosure may be easily and efficientlytransported, not only within a facility, but also from one facility toanother because the cart is relatively light in weight, particularly ascompared to prior art medical carts currently used in hospitals andother facilities. Moreover, the cart is reconfigurable to make it easilydeployable, storable and transportable. Ease of transportation may allowfor a single doctor or medical practitioner utilizing a single medicalcart to provide consultation and/or care to multiple patients atmultiple facilities potentially expanding availability of care and/orreducing costs.

These and further features of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the attached drawings. In the description anddrawings, particular embodiments of the invention have been disclosed indetail as being indicative of some of the ways in which the principlesof the invention may be employed, but it is understood that theinvention is not limited correspondingly in scope. Rather, the inventionincludes all changes, modifications and equivalents coming within theterms of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate various example systems, methods,and so on, that illustrate various example embodiments of aspects of theinvention. It will be appreciated that the illustrated elementboundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in thefigures represent one example of the boundaries. One of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that one element may be designed as multipleelements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. Anelement shown as an internal component of another element may beimplemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore,elements may not be drawn to scale.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an exemplary medical cart.

FIG. 2A illustrates the exemplary cart in a deployed configuration.

FIGS. 2B-2D illustrate the exemplary cart in configurations intermediaryto deployment, store and transport.

FIG. 2E illustrates the exemplary cart in a transporting configuration.

FIG. 2F illustrates the exemplary cart in a storing configuration.

FIG. 3A illustrates an additional embodiment of the exemplary cart inthe storing configuration.

FIG. 3B illustrates the exemplary cart in the transportingconfiguration.

FIGS. 3C and 3D illustrate the exemplary cart in configurationsintermediary to deployment, store and transport.

FIG. 3E illustrates the exemplary cart in the deployed configuration.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an additional embodiment of the cart.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer environment in which modules related tothe exemplary carts may be embodied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an exemplary medical cart 1. FIG. 1Aillustrates the exemplary medical cart 1 from the perspective of apatient while FIG. 1B illustrates the cart 1 from the perspective of afacilitator as described below.

The medical cart 1 includes an interface assembly 10.

On the patient side (FIG. 1A), the interface assembly 10 includes apatient-side display 12, a speaker 14, a camera 16 and a microphone 18.The cart 1 is also equipped with a communication module as furtherdisclosed below that receives video and audio communication from alocation remote to the location of the cart 1. The communication moduledisplays the received video on the display 12 and plays the receivedaudio through the speaker 14. The communication module also receives avideo image from the camera 16 and sound from the microphone 18, andtransmits the received video image and sound to the remote location. Thecommunication module may be implemented as a node in a wired or wirelesscommunication network.

The video and audio communication received from the remote location maybe, for example, a transmission from a doctor D or other medicalpractitioner. A camera and microphone may be set up at the remotelocation to allow the doctor or medical practitioner to communicate witha patient facing the display 12 and within audible range of the speaker14. The camera 16 and the microphone 18 may capture the patient'slikeness and voice and allow the patient to communicate with the doctorD or medical practitioner.

For example, the cart 1 may be deployed at a medical facility (e.g.,hospital, nursing home, psychiatric care facility, etc.) such that apatient may interact with a doctor D via the interface assembly 10. Thedoctor D or medical practitioner may be at a remote facility. Bycommunicating via the cart 1 the doctor D may provide consultation andcare to the patient remotely. Thus, the cart 1 may improve theavailability and/or cost of medical care to, for example, remote areasin which specific medical care may not be readily available. The cart 1may also allow a single doctor or medical practitioner to provideconsultation and/or care to multiple patients at multiple facilitiespotentially expanding availability of care and/or reducing costs.

The cart 1 may be deployed with the assistance of a facilitator, aperson that would attend to transport and setup of the cart 1. Thefacilitator may also attend to any technical issues or concernsregarding the cart 1, to completion of medical forms, and may generallymonitor the interaction between doctor and patient to ensure asatisfactory experience for the patient.

On the facilitator side (FIG. 1B), the cart 1 includes a tray 15 and acomputer 20 that includes a facilitator-side display 22. For purposes ofillustration the computer 20 is shown as a laptop computer resting onthe tray 15. In one embodiment, the computer 20 may be a tablet computerconnected to the tray 15 or to a different portion of the interfaceassembly 10 or the cart 1. In another embodiment, the computer 20 may bea desktop or tower type computer with the main CPU portion of thecomputer 20 located on the tray 15, the interface assembly 10 or inanother portion of the cart 1, while the display 22 may be located onthe tray 15 or a different portion of the interface assembly 10 or thecart 1. In one embodiment, the tray 15 is less than a full tray, butinstead may be a skeleton or frame to which the computer 20 or thedisplay 22 may attach or on which they may rest.

The cart 1 may also be equipped with a facilitator module as furtherdisclosed below that receives the video and audio communication from theremote location similar to the communication module described above. Thefacilitator module displays the received video on the display 22. Thefacilitator module may also play the received audio through speakers(not shown) such as, for example, headphones that the facilitator maywear. The facilitator module displays the received video and may playthe received audio such that the facilitator may monitor communicationbetween doctor and patient. In the illustrated embodiment, thefacilitator module displays the received video corresponding to thetransmission from the doctor D on a first portion 22 a of thefacilitator-side display 22.

In one embodiment, the facilitator module may also receive the videoimage from the camera 16 and sound from the microphone 18 similar to thecommunication module described above. The facilitator module displaysthe video image from the camera 16 on the display 22. The facilitatormodule may also play the sound from the microphone 18 through speakers(not shown) such as, for example, headphones that the facilitator maywear. The facilitator module displays the video image from the camera 16and may play the sound from the microphone 18 such that the facilitatormay monitor communication between doctor and patient. In the illustratedembodiment, the facilitator module displays the video image from thecamera 16 on a second portion 22 b of the facilitator-side display 22.

In another embodiment, the facilitator module may also receive datacorresponding to medical forms (e.g., patient's medical records, medicalcharts, health history, insurance forms, Medicare forms, prescriptions,etc.) relating to the doctor D, to the patient, to the facility, etc.The facilitator module displays data corresponding to medical forms orthe forms themselves on the second display 22 such that the facilitatormay assist the doctor D or the patient in completing the medical forms.In the illustrated embodiment, the facilitator module displays datacorresponding to medical forms on a third portion 22 c of the seconddisplay 22. The cart 1 may further include a printer 24 that thefacilitator may use to print any medical forms for the use of thepatient, the doctor, the medical facility, etc.

Thus, cart 1 including the facilitator module may help the facilitatormonitor various aspects of the communication between doctor and patientto, again, ensure a satisfactory experience for the patient.

In at least some cases, however, the doctor/patient interactionfacilitated by the cart 1 may be disrupted by the presence of a thirdperson, the facilitator. Ideally, the patient would be able toconcentrate on the interaction with the doctor D via the displayinterface assembly 10 without the facilitator becoming a distraction.

To this end, the cart 1 may provide the first display 12 and the seconddisplay 22 at opposite ends of the cart 1. In the illustratedembodiment, the computer 20 is connected to or rests on the tray 15 suchthat the second display 22 faces in a direction opposite to thedirection to which the first display 12 faces. In another embodiment,the second display 22 (not necessarily the computer 20) is connected toor rests on the tray 15 such that the second display 22 faces in adirection opposite to the direction to which the first display 12 faces.In yet another embodiment, the computer 20 and/or the display 22 areconnected to portions of the cart 1 other than the tray 15 such that thesecond display 22 faces in a direction opposite to the direction towhich the first display 12 faces. In yet another embodiment, the firstdisplay 12 and the second display 22 are disposed within the cart 1 suchthat the second display 22 faces in a direction different from, althoughnot necessarily opposite to, the direction to which the first display 12faces.

Moreover, in the illustrated embodiment, the cart 1 further includes aprivacy screen 25 disposed between the first display 12 and the seconddisplay 22. The privacy screen 25 at least partially blocks afacilitator facing the display 22 from the view of the patient facingthe first display 12. Thus, the facilitator, while facing the seconddisplay 22 and in a position on an opposite side of the cart 1 from aposition in which a patient faces the first display 12, is at leastpartially blocked from view of the patient behind the privacy screen 25when the patient is interacting with the doctor D.

Thus, in the arrangement of FIGS. 1A and 1B the cart 1 including theprivacy screen 25 and/or having the first display 12 and second display22 arranged so that they face in different directions may help preserveor enhance the doctor/patient interaction. This arrangement mayeffectively minimize any disruption created by the presence of thefacilitator to the doctor/patient interaction. The patient would be morelikely to concentrate on the interaction with the doctor D via thedisplay interface assembly 10 without the facilitator becoming adistraction.

In one embodiment (not shown), the computer 20 is detachably connectedto the tray 15 (or another portion of the cart 1) such that thefacilitator may easily detach the computer 20 (or the display 22) fromthe cart 1. The computer 20 may form a wireless communication networkwith the interface assembly 10 or the cart 1 and communicate with theinterface assembly 10 via the wireless communication network. Forexample, the cart 1 may include a first wireless communication interfaceand the computer 20 may include a second wireless communicationinterface wirelessly coupled to the first wireless communicationinterface. This arrangement may further minimize any disruption createdby the presence of the facilitator to the doctor/patient interactionbecause the facilitator may be able to facilitate the doctor/patientinteraction from a nearby yet remote location (e.g., a room near to thepatient's room, outside of the door of the patient's room, etc.) Thisarrangement may help further preserve or enhance the doctor/patientinteraction. The patient should be able to better experience theinteraction with the doctor D via the display interface assembly 10without the facilitator being a distraction.

Thus, the cart 1 may help ensure effective and satisfactorydoctor/patient interaction.

Moreover, to reduce the cost and increase the availability of care, thecart 1 is not bound to a single medical facility. The cart 1 may beeasily and efficiently transported, not only within a facility, but alsofrom facility to facility. To this end, the cart 1 is relatively lightin weight, particularly as compared to prior art medical carts currentlyused in hospitals and other facilities. Moreover, the cart 1 includesfeatures that make it easily deployable, storable and transportable asdescribed below.

FIGS. 2A-2F illustrate the exemplary cart 1 in various stages ofdeployment, store and transport.

FIG. 2A illustrates the exemplary cart 1 in the deployed configuration,which is the same position illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B above. In thedeployed configuration, a patient (not shown) may interact with a doctorD via the interface assembly 10 which includes the display 12, thespeaker 14, the camera 16 and the microphone 18. Also, in the deployedconfiguration, a facilitator F may monitor various aspects of thecommunication between doctor and patient.

FIG. 2E illustrates the exemplary cart 1 in the transportingconfiguration while FIG. 2F illustrates the cart 1 in the storingconfiguration. FIGS. 2B-2D illustrate the cart 1 in configurationsintermediary between deployment, store and transport.

With return reference to FIG. 2A, the exemplary cart 1 includes apivoting assembly 40 which, in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2C, isconnected to the enclosure 30 so that it may pivot relative to the pointof connection between the pivoting assembly 40 and the enclosure 30. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the cart 1 also includes a set of wheels 50attached to the pivoting assembly 40. In other embodiments, the set ofwheels may be connected to the enclosure 30 or to a portion of the cart1 other than the pivoting assembly 40 or the enclosure 30. In theconfigurations of FIGS. 2A-2C, including the deployed configuration ofFIG. 2A, another portion 52 of the cart 1 makes contact with thetransporting surface (e.g. the floor of the medical facility, asidewalk, etc.) in addition to the set of wheels 50. The wheels 50 incombination with the portion 52 form a multipoint base on which the cart1 may stably rest in the deployed configuration.

The exemplary cart 1 also includes an enclosure 30. In the illustratedembodiment, the enclosure 30 has an opening 32 at one end and theinterface assembly 10 includes a connecting portion 34 (e.g., slides,rails, etc.) that is operable to move (e.g., slide) the interfaceassembly 10 including the display 12, the speaker 14, the camera 16 andthe microphone 18 so that it may be inserted into the enclosure 30through the opening 32.

Inside the enclosure 30 the display 12, the speaker 14, the camera 16and the microphone 18 may be protected from the environment includingprotection from contact, shock, moisture, dirt, etc. The enclosure 30may be fabricated of metal, plastic or other suitable material that isdurable and provide protection to the display 12, the speaker 14, thecamera 16 and the microphone 18 when they are stored in the enclosure30.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2A, prior to insertion of theinterface assembly 10 into the enclosure 30, the tray 15 folds intowards the interface assembly 10 so that the tray 15 may be insertedinto the enclosure 30 together with the interface assembly 10. Also, anassembly 17 that may hold or cover the speaker 14, the camera 16 and themicrophone 18 may also fold in prior to insertion of the interfaceassembly 10 into the enclosure 30. The tray 15 and the assembly 17 maybe connected to the interface assembly 10 by a hinge or similar elementsuch that the facilitator F may fold the tray 15 and the assembly 17towards the interface assembly 10.

FIG. 2B illustrates the exemplary cart 1 with the tray 15 and theassembly 17 folded toward the interface assembly 10. In one embodiment,the computer 20 may remain attached to the tray 15 while the tray 15 isfolded towards the interface assembly 10. In another embodiment, thecomputer 20 may be detached from the tray 15 prior to folding of thetray 15 towards the interface assembly 10. The enclosure 30 may includea compartment 35 (see FIG. 1B) in which the computer 20 may be stored.

FIG. 2C illustrates the cart 1 after the interface assembly 10 includingthe display 12, the speaker 14, the camera 16 and the microphone 18 hasbeen inserted into the enclosure 30 through the opening 32.

When reconfiguring the cart 1 from the deployed configuration to thetransporting configuration, the pivoting assembly 40 may be pivotedabout the point of connection between the pivoting assembly 40 and theenclosure 30 such that the pivoting assembly 40 is substantiallyparallel to the enclosure 30 and only the wheels 50 make contact withthe transporting surface as shown in FIG. 2D. The pivoting assembly 40includes a handle portion 40 a that slides axially off the pivotingassembly 40 as shown in FIG. 2E to become a transporting handle for thecart 1. In the transporting configuration, as shown in FIG. 2E, thefacilitator F may pull on the handle portion 40 a to transport the cart1 which rolls on the wheels 50.

Finally, the facilitator F may slide the handle portion 40 a axiallyback into the pivoting portion 40 to minimize the profile of the cart 1into the storing configuration as shown in FIG. 2F. In the storingconfiguration, the cart 1 may have a small enough profile to fit in thetrunk of car or the back of an SUV as shown in FIG. 2F. The cart 1 islight enough for the facilitator F to be able to lift the cart 1 off theground near the car or the SUV and place the cart 1 configured in thestoring configuration in the trunk of the car or in the back of the SUV.

FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate a slightly different embodiment of the exemplarycart 1 in various stages of deployment, store and transport.

FIG. 3A illustrates the exemplary cart 1 in the storing configurationwith its profile minimized for storage. FIG. 3B illustrates theexemplary cart 1 in the transporting configuration in which the handleportion 40 a has been pulled axially off the pivoting portion 40 fortransporting. By use of the handle portion 40 a the facilitator F hasalso pulled up the cart 1 to a slanted stance for transportation. In thetransporting configuration as shown in FIG. 3B, only the wheels 50 makecontact with the transporting surface.

As shown in FIG. 3C, to reconfigure the cart 1 from the transportingconfiguration to the deployed configuration the handle portion 40 a mayslide axially back into the pivoting portion 40 and the pivotingassembly 40 may be pivoted about the point of connection between thepivoting assembly 40 and the enclosure 30 such that the wheels 50, whichin the illustrated embodiment are connected to the pivoting assembly 40,are repositioned away from the enclosure 30. The wheels 50 incombination with the portion 52 form a multipoint base on which the cart1 may stably rest in the deployed configuration. In the illustratedembodiment of FIGS. 3A-3E the portion 52 is embodied as a second set ofwheels. In one embodiment, the first set of wheels 50 or the second setof wheels 52 or both include a locking mechanism to prevent the wheels50 and/or 52 from rotating when the cart 1 is in the deployedconfiguration.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3E the interface assembly 10includes a pull handle 19. Once the cart 1 has been stabilized, thefacilitator F may pull on the pull handle 19 to slide the interfaceassembly 10 from the enclosure 30 through the opening 32 as shown inFIG. 3C. In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3C the tray 15 isembodied as a wall of the enclosure 30 at least in the transportingconfiguration. Once the interface assembly has been pulled from theenclosure 30, the tray 15 may be pulled up from the enclosure 30 andflipped down or opened away from the interface assembly 10 and be madeto rest on the handle portion 40 a of the pivoting assembly 40 as shownin FIG. 3D. The assembly 17 may also be flipped down or opened away fromthe interface assembly 10 to expose the speaker 14, the camera 16 andthe microphone 18.

FIG. 3E illustrates the exemplary cart 1 in the deployed configurationin which the patient (not shown) may interact with the doctor via theinterface assembly 10. Also, in the deployed configuration, afacilitator F may monitor various aspects of the communication betweendoctor and patient by use of the computer 20 which may rest or beattached to the tray 15.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an additional embodiment of the cart 1. Inthe illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 4A and 4B the interface assembly 10includes an alternative design for the tray 15 and the pull handle 19.In the illustrated embodiment, the pull handle 19 may be part of alocking mechanism that locks or unlocks the connecting portion 34 toprevent it or allow it to slide the interface assembly 10 into theenclosure 30 through the opening 32.

The enclosure 30 also has laterally protruding portions 30 a and 30 bdisposed relative to the pivoting assembly 40 such that the pivotingassembly 40 may pivot from the transporting configuration, in which thepivoting assembly engages a first set of walls of the protrudingportions 30 a and 30 b, to the deployed configuration, in which thepivoting assembly 40 engages a second set of walls of the protrudingportions 30 a and 30 b. Engagement of the pivoting assembly 40 and thewalls of the protruding portions assists in stabilizing the cart 1.

The cart 1 also includes a battery compartment 36 in which a batterythat powers the various components of the cart 1 may be stored. The cart1 also includes a power cord 38 that may be used to connect to a poweroutlet to recharge the battery. The cart 1 also includes a power cordreel portion 39 disposed within one of the laterally protruding portions30 a such that in the transporting configuration the power cord 38 isreelable in the power cord reel portion 39 such that the power cord 38does not interfere with transporting of the cart 1.

In one embodiment, to increase battery life and minimize the weight ofthe cart 1 among other considerations, the cart 1 includes a main AC-DCconverter (not shown) that charges the battery. The various devices ofthe cart 1 including the first display 12, the speaker 14, the camera16, the microphone 18, the second display 22 and the computer 20 mayoperate exclusively off DC power from the battery. This way the cart 1may include only one main power converter instead of multiple powerconverters, one for each device. This arrangement reduces powerconversion losses and thus increases efficiency and battery life.Additionally, the reduction in the number of power converters alsoreduces the overall weight of the cart 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer 500 that includes a processor 502, amemory 504, and I/O Ports 510 operably connected by a bus 508. In oneembodiment, the computer 500 of FIG. 5 corresponds to the computer 20described above. In another embodiment, the computer 500 of FIG. 5corresponds to a computer other than the computer 20 described above.

In one example, the computer 500 may include a communication module 530configured to receive a video and audio communication corresponding to atransmission from a doctor at a location remote from a location of thecart 1 and further configured to cause the video to show on the display12 and the audio to play through the speaker 14, the doctor/patientcommunication module further configured to receive a video image fromthe camera 16 and sound from the microphone 18 and to transmit the videoimage and the sound to the location remote from the location of the cart1.

In one example, the computer 500 may include a facilitator module 540configured to receive the video and audio communication corresponding tothe transmission from the doctor and to cause the video to show on thefirst portion 22 a of the second display 22. In another example, thefacilitator module 540 may further be configured to receive the videoimage from the camera 16 and sound from the microphone 18 and to causethe video image to show on the second portion 22 b of the second display22 such that the facilitator may monitor communication between doctorand patient. In yet another example, the facilitator module 540 mayfurther be configured to receive data corresponding to medical formscorresponding to at least one of the doctor or the patient and to showthe data corresponding to medical forms on the third portion 22 c of thesecond display 22 such that the facilitator may assist in completing themedical forms.

The processor 502 can be a variety of various processors including dualmicroprocessor and other multi-processor architectures. The memory 504can include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The non-volatilememory can include, but is not limited to, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, andthe like. Volatile memory can include, for example, RAM, synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DRRAM).

A disk 506 may be operably connected to the computer 500 via, forexample, an I/O Interfaces (e.g., card, device) 518 and an I/O Ports510. The disk 506 can include, but is not limited to, devices like amagnetic disk drive, a solid state disk drive, a floppy disk drive, atape drive, a Zip drive, a flash memory card, or a memory stick.Furthermore, the disk 506 can include optical drives like a CD-ROM, a CDrecordable drive (CD-R drive), a CD rewriteable drive (CD-RW drive), ora digital video ROM drive (DVD ROM). The memory 504 can store processes514 or data 516, for example. The disk 506 or memory 504 can store anoperating system that controls and allocates resources of the computer500.

The bus 508 can be a single internal bus interconnect architecture orother bus or mesh architectures. While a single bus is illustrated, itis to be appreciated that computer 500 may communicate with variousdevices, logics, and peripherals using other busses that are notillustrated (e.g., PCIE, SATA, Infiniband, 1394, USB, Ethernet). The bus508 can be of a variety of types including, but not limited to, a memorybus or memory controller, a peripheral bus or external bus, a crossbarswitch, or a local bus. The local bus can be of varieties including, butnot limited to, an industrial standard architecture (ISA) bus, amicrochannel architecture (MCA) bus, an extended ISA (EISA) bus, aperipheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, a universal serial (USB)bus, and a small computer systems interface (SCSI) bus.

The computer 500 may interact with input/output devices via I/OInterfaces 518 and I/O Ports 510. Input/output devices can include, butare not limited to, the first display 12, the speaker 14, the camera 16,the microphone 18, the second display 22, a keyboard, a microphone, apointing and selection device, cameras, video cards, displays, disk 506,network devices 520, and the like. The I/O Ports 510 can include but arenot limited to, serial ports, parallel ports, and USB ports.

The computer 500 can operate in a network environment and thus may beconnected to network devices 520 via the I/O Interfaces 518, or the I/OPorts 510. Through the network devices 520, the computer 500 mayinteract with a network. Through the network, the computer 500 may belogically connected to remote computers. The networks with which thecomputer 500 may interact include, but are not limited to, a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and other networks. Thenetwork devices 520 can connect to LAN technologies including, but notlimited to, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), copper distributeddata interface (CDDI), Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), token ring (IEEE 802.5),wireless computer communication (IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth (IEEE802.15.1), Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4) and the like. Similarly, the networkdevices 520 can connect to WAN technologies including, but not limitedto, point to point links, circuit switching networks like integratedservices digital networks (ISDN), packet switching networks, and digitalsubscriber lines (DSL). While individual network types are described, itis to be appreciated that communications via, over, or through a networkmay include combinations and mixtures of communications.

While example systems, methods, and so on, have been illustrated bydescribing examples, and while the examples have been described inconsiderable detail, it is not the intention to restrict or in any waylimit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. It is, of course,not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components ormethodologies for purposes of describing the systems, methods, and soon, described herein. Additional advantages and modifications willreadily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention isnot limited to the specific details, and illustrative examples shown ordescribed. Thus, this application is intended to embrace alterations,modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appendedclaims. Furthermore, the preceding description is not meant to limit thescope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to bedetermined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

To the extent that the terms “in” or “into” are used in thespecification or the claims, it is intended to additionally mean “on” or“onto.” Furthermore, to the extent the term “connect” is used in thespecification or claims, it is intended to mean not only “directlyconnected to,” but also “indirectly connected to” such as connectedthrough another component or components. An “operable connection,” or aconnection by which entities are “operably connected,” is one by whichthe operably connected entities or the operable connection perform itsintended purpose. For example, two entities may be “operably connected”to each other directly or through one or more intermediate entities.

To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is employed in thedetailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted whenemployed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extentthat the term “or” is employed in the detailed description or claims(e.g., A or B) it is intended to mean “A or B or both”. When theapplicants intend to indicate “only A or B but not both” then the term“only A or B but not both” will be employed. Thus, use of the term “or”herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use. See, Bryan A.Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 624 (3D. Ed. 1995).

What is claimed is:
 1. A medical cart system comprising: an enclosureincluding a connecting portion and having an opening at one end; aninterface assembly including a first display, a speaker, a camera and amicrophone, and operatively connected to the enclosure at least at theconnecting portion, the connecting portion operable to reposition theinterface assembly from a transporting configuration in which the firstdisplay, the speaker, the camera and the microphone are disposed withinthe enclosure to a deployed configuration in which the first display,the speaker, the camera and the microphone are disposed outside of theenclosure, wherein the connecting portion is operable to reposition theinterface assembly from the deployed configuration to the transportingconfiguration by sliding the interface assembly including the firstdisplay, the speaker, the camera and the microphone into the enclosurethrough the opening, and from the transporting configuration to thedeployed configuration by sliding the interface assembly including thefirst display, the speaker, the camera and the microphone from theenclosure through the opening; a pivoting assembly pivotably disposed inrelation to the enclosure; a set of wheels operably connected to atleast one of the enclosure or the pivoting assembly, the pivotingassembly operable to pivot from the transporting configuration in whichonly the set of wheels makes contact with a transporting surface to thedeployed configuration in which a portion of the cart in addition to theset of wheels makes contact with the transporting surface forstabilizing the cart in the deployed configuration; a tray hingedlyconnected to the interface assembly and foldable from the deployedconfiguration in which the tray opens away from the interface assemblyto the transporting configuration in which the tray folds towards theinterface assembly; a computer including a second display, the computeroperatively disposed relative to the tray such that in the deployedconfiguration the second display faces in a direction opposite to adirection to which the display of the interface assembly faces; and aprivacy screen disposed between the first display and the second displaysuch that the facilitator, while facing the second display and in aposition on an opposite side of the cart from a position in which apatient faces the first display, is at least partially blocked from viewof the patient behind the privacy screen.
 2. The medical cart system ofclaim 1, comprising: a wireless communication network, wherein thecomputer is detachably disposed relative to the tray such that in thedeployed configuration the computer is detachable from the tray andcommunicate with the interface assembly via the wireless communicationnetwork.
 3. A cart comprising: an enclosure including a connectingportion; an interface assembly including a display, a speaker, a cameraand a microphone, and operatively connected to the enclosure at least atthe connecting portion, the connecting portion operable to repositionthe interface assembly from a transporting configuration in which thedisplay, the speaker, the camera and the microphone are disposed insidethe enclosure to a deployed configuration in which the display, thespeaker, the camera and the microphone are disposed outside of theenclosure; a set of wheels operably connected to at least one of theenclosure or another portion of the cart to, in the transportingconfiguration transport the cart on a transporting surface; and acommunication module configured to receive a video and audiocommunication corresponding to a transmission from a doctor at alocation remote from a location of the cart and further configured tocause the video to show on the display and the audio to play through thespeaker, the communication module further configured to receive a videoimage from the camera and sound from the microphone and to transmit thevideo image and the sound to the location remote from the location ofthe cart.
 4. The cart of claim 3, comprising: a second displayoperatively connected to the interface assembly and disposed relative tothe first display of the interface assembly such that in the deployedconfiguration the second display faces in a different direction from adirection to which the display of the interface assembly faces; afacilitator module configured to receive the video and audiocommunication corresponding to the transmission from the doctor and tocause the video to show on a first portion of the second display, thefacilitator module further configured to receive the video image fromthe camera and sound from the microphone and to cause the video image toshow on a second portion of the second display to allow a facilitator tomonitor communication between doctor and patient, the facilitator modulefurther configured to receive data corresponding to medical formscorresponding to at least one of the doctor or the patient and to showthe data corresponding to medical forms on a third portion of the seconddisplay to allow the facilitator to assist in completing the medicalforms; and a privacy screen disposed between the first display and thesecond display such that the facilitator, while facing the seconddisplay and in a position on an opposite side of the cart from aposition in which the patient faces the first display, is at leastpartially blocked from the patient's view to afford a level of privacyto the doctor/patient interaction.
 5. A cart comprising: an enclosureincluding a connecting portion; an interface assembly including adisplay, a speaker, a camera and a microphone, and operatively connectedto the enclosure at least at the connecting portion, the connectingportion operable to reposition the interface assembly from atransporting configuration in which the display, the speaker, the cameraand the microphone are disposed inside the enclosure to a deployedconfiguration in which the display, the speaker, the camera and themicrophone are disposed outside of the enclosure; a pivoting assemblypivotably disposed in relation to the enclosure; a set of wheelsoperably connected to at least one of the enclosure or the pivotingassembly, the pivoting assembly operable to pivot from the transportingconfiguration in which only the set of wheels makes contact with atransporting surface to the deployed configuration in which a portion ofthe cart in addition to the set of wheels (e.g., a second set of wheels)makes contact with the transporting surface for stabilizing the cart inthe deployed configuration; and a tray hingedly connected to theinterface assembly and foldable from the deployed configuration in whichthe tray opens away from the interface assembly such that the tray issubstantially parallel to the transporting surface to the transportingconfiguration in which the tray folds towards the interface assemblysuch that the tray is substantially parallel to a major axis of theinterface assembly.
 6. The cart of claim 5, wherein the enclosure has anopening at one end and the connecting portion is operable to repositionthe interface assembly from the deployed configuration to thetransporting configuration by inserting the interface assembly includingthe display, the speaker, the camera and the microphone into theenclosure through the opening, wherein the connecting portion includesat least one sliding assembly operable to reposition the interfaceassembly from the deployed configuration to the transportingconfiguration by sliding the interface assembly including the display,the speaker, the camera and the microphone into the enclosure throughthe opening, and from the transporting configuration to the deployedconfiguration by sliding the interface assembly including the display,the speaker, the camera and the microphone out of the enclosure throughthe opening.
 7. The cart of claim 5, comprising: a computer including asecond display, the computer operatively connected to the tray such thatin the deployed configuration the second display faces in a directiondifferent from a direction to which the display of the interfaceassembly faces and in the transporting configuration the computerretreats to within the shelf enclosure while remaining operativelyconnected to the tray.
 8. The cart of claim 5, comprising: a firstwireless communication interface; and a computer including a secondwireless communication interface wirelessly coupled to the firstwireless communication interface, wherein the computer is detachablydisposed relative to the tray such that in the deployed configurationthe computer is detachable from the tray and communicate with theinterface assembly via the first and the second wireless communicationinterfaces.
 9. The cart of claim 5, comprising: a second displayoperatively connected to the interface assembly and disposed relative tothe display of the interface assembly such that in the deployedconfiguration the second display faces in a direction different from adirection to which the display of the interface assembly faces; and aprivacy screen disposed between the display and the second display suchthat the facilitator, while facing the second display and in a positionon an opposite side of the cart from a position in which the patientfaces the display, is at least partially blocked from view of thepatient behind the privacy screen.
 10. The cart of claim 5, comprising:a communication module configured to receive a video and audiocommunication corresponding to a transmission from a doctor at alocation remote from a location of the cart and further configured tocause the video to show on the display and the audio to play through thespeaker, the communication module further configured to receive a videoimage from the camera and sound from the microphone and to transmit thevideo image and the sound to the location remote from the location ofthe cart.
 11. The cart of claim 10, comprising: a second display, and afacilitator module configured to receive the video and audiocommunication corresponding to the transmission from the doctor and tocause the video to show on a first portion of the second display, thefacilitator module further configured to receive the video image fromthe camera and sound from the microphone and to cause the video image toshow on a second portion of the second display to allow a facilitator tomonitor communication between doctor and patient.
 12. The cart of claim10, comprising: a second display, and a facilitator module configured toreceive the video and audio communication corresponding to thetransmission from the doctor and further configured to cause the videoto show on a first portion of the second display, the facilitator modulefurther configured to receive data corresponding to medical formscorresponding to at least one of the doctor or the patient and to showthe data corresponding to medical forms on a second portion of thesecond display to allow a facilitator to assist in completing themedical forms.
 13. The cart of claim 10, comprising: a second display,and a facilitator module configured to receive the video and audiocommunication corresponding to the transmission from the doctor and tocause the video to show on a first portion of the second display, thefacilitator module further configured to receive the video image fromthe camera and sound from the microphone and to cause the video image toshow on a second portion of the second display to allow a facilitator tomonitor communication between doctor and patient, the facilitator modulefurther configured to receive data corresponding to medical formscorresponding to at least one of the doctor or the patient and to showthe data corresponding to medical forms on a third portion of the seconddisplay to allow the facilitator to assist in completing the medicalforms.
 14. The cart of claim 5, comprising: a second display operativelyconnected to the interface assembly and disposed relative to the displayof the interface assembly such that in the deployed configuration thesecond display faces in a direction different from a direction to whichthe display of the interface assembly faces; a communication moduleconfigured to receive a video and audio communication corresponding to atransmission from a doctor at a location remote from a location of thecart and further configured to cause the video to show on the displayand the audio to play through the speaker, the communication modulefurther configured to receive a video image from the camera and soundfrom the microphone and to transmit the video image and the sound to thelocation remote from the location of the cart to provide adoctor/patient interaction; a facilitator module configured to receivethe video and audio communication corresponding to the transmission fromthe doctor and to cause the video to show on a first portion of thesecond display, the facilitator module further configured to receive thevideo image from the camera and sound from the microphone and to causethe video image to show on a second portion of the second display toallow a facilitator to monitor the doctor/patient interaction; and aprivacy screen disposed between the display and the second display suchthat the facilitator, while facing the second display and in a positionon an opposite side of the cart from a position in which the patientfaces the display, is at least partially blocked from view of thepatient behind the privacy screen.
 15. The cart of claim 14, wherein thesecond display is operatively connected to the tray such that in thedeployed configuration the second display faces in the directionsubstantially opposite to the direction to which the display of theinterface assembly faces and in the transporting configuration thesecond display retreats to within the shelf enclosure while remainingoperatively connected to the tray.
 16. The cart of claim 5, wherein theenclosure has laterally protruding portions disposed relative to thepivoting assembly such that the pivoting assembly pivots from thetransporting configuration in which the pivoting assembly engages afirst set of walls of the protruding portions to the deployedconfiguration in which the pivoting assembly engages a second set ofwalls of the protruding portions.
 17. The cart of claim 16, comprising:a power cord reel portion disposed within one of the laterallyprotruding portions such that in the transporting configuration a powercord is reelable in the power cord reel portion such that the power corddoes not interfere with transporting of the cart.
 18. A cart comprising:an enclosure including a connecting portion; an interface assemblyincluding a display, a speaker, a camera and a microphone, andoperatively connected to the enclosure at least at the connectingportion, the connecting portion operable to reposition the interfaceassembly from a transporting configuration in which the display, thespeaker, the camera and the microphone are disposed inside the enclosureto a deployed configuration in which the display, the speaker, thecamera and the microphone are disposed outside of the enclosure; apivoting assembly pivotably disposed in relation to the enclosure; a setof wheels operably connected to at least one of the enclosure or thepivoting assembly, the pivoting assembly operable to pivot from thetransporting configuration in which only the set of wheels makes contactwith a transporting surface to the deployed configuration in which aportion of the cart in addition to the set of wheels makes contact withthe transporting surface for stabilizing the cart in the deployedconfiguration; a tray hingedly connected to the interface assembly andfoldable from the deployed configuration in which the tray opens awayfrom the interface assembly to the transporting configuration in whichthe tray folds towards the interface assembly; and a computer includinga second display, the computer operatively connected to the tray suchthat in the deployed configuration the second display faces in adirection different from a direction to which the display of theinterface assembly faces and in the transporting configuration thecomputer retreats to within the shelf enclosure while remainingoperatively connected to the tray.